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061816-LoHaH II: A Tale of Ages
Leiko: Leiko walks back toward Nyarla, "Talk to any of your friends, deadfellow?" Nyarla: Nyarla looks up. "A couple." He shrugs. He glances around at the battlefield. "Talk to any of yours?" Leiko: "I don't keep those sorts of things around. They've always let me down when I need them." She folds her arms. Nyarla: "That's fair. Where ya from?" "I don't suppose those ex friends were my consorts." Leiko: "Na, someone you don't really know too well. I've always gotten along real well with my father though. I want to get off planet so I can see him again. So even if there's no friendship behind it... I do still need your help. You're the only one who can ask Mother to fix your bed." She sighs. "And I guess we should move on. I've adjusted things as best I could find to fulfill what needs done. And we've got a man to talk to about a key." Nyarla: "What'd you adjust? And what does this key open?" Leiko: "The key opens a passage that can lead us to Mother. My adjustments were... I mean the person we're going to see can explain it. But I made sure everything was pointing where it needed to be, and tossed in a few small bombs for good measure." Nyarla: "...bombs?" the eyebrows are half way up his forehead. Leiko: She reaches into her cape and pulls out several small bombs. "Uh... Incendiary devices, you know. BOOM!" Nyarla: "..." He seems to be in thought for a moment. "Are you trying to kill the consorts?" Leiko: She repockets them quickly and waves for him to follow her. "We've got stuff to do, Nyanya. Your morals don't belong in this situation, because you don't understand it. You might never know, but this is the way its supposed to be. You can ask him about it when we get there." Nyarla: He almost seems a bit hesitant to go, but follows nonetheless. "That explanation better be good." Leiko: "Some food for thought as we go... Have you ever thought about your land's name, Nyanya?" She leads him past what seems like miles of warring bird-people before they see the outlines of another village. Nyarla: "Hatred. I'm fairly certain the planet's real quest lies in either bringing a halt to this war or winning it alongside one of the factions." "Whatever the reason for it is, I'd rather have some consorts alive when it starts. I've got my own mission to do here." Leiko: "Hmm. I think you're focusing on the wrong part." She smiles. "Its okay, I thought that at first too." You two enter the village on the other side of the war and she points out a hut all the way on the other side, a bit larger than the others. Nyarla: "Our guy is here?" Leiko: "Yep! He's nice, but he talks FOREVER. Worse than I do." "We've all been kind of lonely for a long time since... well..." "Anyway~" Nyarla: "Yeah, my death." He moves up to the door, but steps aside, ushering her to go in first. "After you." Leiko: "Polite for a corpse. Thank you Nyanya." She slips inside and loudly greets the person inside. "Shing, you geezer, talk to me!" As you enter, you see a rather muscular bird-man, covered in bright reddish feathers and a few visible scars. He's moving freely despite the time stop. Shing Tedoh: "And who is your friend, Leiko?" He gets up to grab several cups of water. Nyarla: "I'm Nyarla, nice to meet you...Shing, was it?" He greets the bird-man. Shing Tedoh: Shing sets the cups of water down and reaches out a feathery hand to shake yours. "Good to meet you Nyarla. I had heard you passed on. Knowing you still move freely and have a chance to succeed makes my mission a little less difficult." Nyarla: He shakes the offered hand firmly. "Might I inquire what that mission may be?" "As well as why you're not affected by the time stop like the others?" Shing Tedoh: "Ah, well, it's my job to keep the entrance to Mother guarded. so I can't really stop doing my job, you know? Special privileges.Once I give the key up though, I'll be just as stuck as everyone else." Nyarla: He reaches for one of the cups. "Don't imagine you're looking forward to that." He takes a sip. "Is that all you do? Wait for someone to come and receive the key?" Shing Tedoh: "No, I play a final part in the death of this land. After all the others die to replenish the stone beneath them, I will fight with the leader from the other village. We are fated to fight to the death. I am to win, and he to die, but it is foretold that I too, pass on from untreatable wounds as the last living thing in this world. Then, this whole world stops forever." He nods sagely. "Its the End Times." "Mother would have to permit us to fight again, may she guide us to grow well." "I believe she is grieving you." Leiko: "I think she's angry. I mean, nobody would have to die outside of their normal wars if he hadn't gone and kicked the bucket. It was probably unavoidable though, like someone else's denizen fight." Shing Tedoh: "Mother is a kind goddess. She wouldn't stop the deaths of so many in this sort of situation if she was angry at us for fulfilling her wishes." Shing tosses the cup of water back into his beak. Leiko: "You can't believe that, Shing. Really?" Nyarla: "Why would Mother put the end times on hold?" "What purpose does it serve? Aside from givign me a lucky break, evidently." Shing Tedoh: "Mother exists through all time. She must know the future can save us all, and we can continue replenishing the Land as we have always done." He pulls a hematite key from his pants pocket. "I'm ready to die either way, Timekeeper. I've been guarding this key for so long now. We know this is how our world ends. This is how it has always ended, and how it always will end. We know. We're ready. Don't hurt if you cannot save us." He holds the key out. Leiko: Leiko grabs the key immediately. "Whyyyy does everyone get so self-righteous at the end?" Shing freezes in place as the key is removed from him. Nyarla: He sighs heavily. "Second planet in a row that's all about fate and gloom. Does it really have to end this way?" Leiko: "Like I have been horrible at hinting about: We go fix your quest bed, the land comes back to life, everyone is happy with their fighting. The end." "Like, you were the TIMEkeeper, not the DOOMbringer. Honestly. I've heard what they say about birdbrains, I'm starting to think it's true." Nyarla: "So what's this Timekeeper business about then?" "Chronicling their war?" Leiko: "My best guess is that you go wind up a big 'ol key for the giant clock in the sky. You take care of the thing that keeps our time. Just a guess though. I just want this done. I want to see my dad again, and not talk to these bird people who are just happy with dying for no reason!" "I don't want to die, Nyanya..." Nyarla: "Dying is a zero out of ten, trust me. I don't fancy playing Father Time while they off each other in the foreground, but whatever. Shall we go see Mother?" Leiko: "Y-yeah..." She pats at her eye with her cloak. "We have to find a mausoleum." Nyarla: "You alright?" Leiko: "Yeah, c'mon..." She hands you the key and stomps out of the house of Shing. Nyarla: He slips the key into a pocket and follows her out. "So we have to find a grave on a planet of constant war. Doesn't sound too tough. Then we see Mother, fix the bed, and then what?" "Everything's better and you get to see your father?" Leiko: "We're supposed to prove ourselves to Mother and to the Game that we're capable of handling Time. Then maybe when you get called back to wherever you came from, I can get off this stupid land and try to find dad..." Nyarla: "Where could he be?" "I don't suppose he'd hunker down on another of the planets in the Medium, would he?" "Or is he from...beyond?" Leiko: "I don't know... He left a long time ago to take care of something important. He was always really noble. He had his priorities straight and he always made sure to fight for what was right, even when it made him do difficult stuff." She pulls an ornate pocketwatch from under her cloak and begins tracing the filigree. "He left me here because I'd be safe, but I'd grow up strong, under the influence of Time. He... he did what was right, even if it was without me. But I'm READY! I am going to prove I'm good enough now. I won't be left behind again!" Leiko grabs Nyarla's hand and starts to run past the village, into a forest of hematite trees, silent and glittering in the light. There are grave markers everywhere, and you notice the ground beneath you is more and more red the further you go in. Leiko: You think you see a building in the distance, but when you try to verify with a second look, its not there. Nyarla: He rubs at his eyes. "Did you see that just now?" Leiko: Leiko turns her head."You saw it?" Nyarla: "I saw what looked like a building, but it vanished." "Trick of the light maybe?" Leiko: "Keep looking! Tell me if you see it again and DON'T let it out of your sight! It's not fixed in Time!" Nyarla: "Could we call it back through time then?" Leiko: "Can we?" She grips her pocketwatch tightly. Nyarla: "You've been here longer, I'd think you'd know better than me. How long have you been here anyway?" He heads towards where he thinks he saw the building. Leiko: She motions to about her hip. "I was... this small." She follows him. Nyarla: He's going to reach out with his senses, feeling around for any temporal distortions. Particularly those of the mysterious building variety. Leiko: You see it again, and manage to keep it in your sight for a while, but it fades out again. Nyarla: "I saw it again!" "But only for a moment." "Do you think we can anchor it to our time? Or anchor ourselves to it and follow it?" Leiko: "Shit. I can't even feel it... " she looks down at the watch again. "Nyanya, I'm going to let you do something very special. I want you to try to do that, yes, to anchor it here. You are allowed to TOUCH this watch, okay? You can TOUCH it. You can't grab it, you can't hold it, you can TOUCH it and use some of it's power." Nyarla: He gingerly touches two fingers to the watch, reaching out again for the building, this time to grab hold. Leiko: Its just enough. It starts to stick and shudder a little against the ground as it settles. "We have to HURRY, Get the key ready!" Leiko runs and puts the timepiece back beneath her cloak Nyarla: He whips out the key, dashing towards door as fast as he can. Leiko: The mausoleum is a deep red, and polished to a lovely shine. Small pebble trails of hematite crawl up the sides, and broad flat stones stick out somewhat like leaves. You reach the door, the building still shuddering slightly.You can sense that it is trying to move, but your grip is stable for the moment. Nyarla: He wastes no time inserting the key. Leiko: You hear the mechanism inside unlock and click a few times, almost like... how a clock ticks... The building seems to settle and you feel its no longer trying to displace itself. "Nyanya hurry, we need to get inside!" "It can't leave us behind if we're inside, right?" Nyarla: "It feels like it's settled now, but who knows." He pushes the door open. Leiko: The door gives a little bit of way, but you can feel it pulling back toward the frame. Nyarla: He pushes again, harder this time. The door gives more, and you can peek inside this time for a brief second before the door closes back up. "What's with this damn door?" Leiko: "Why isn't it opening? Ahhh, I told you that you were focusing on the wrong thing!! What does hematite do?" Leiko throws her body into the door, only getting it to budge as much as you last did. Nyarla: "It's magnetic." "Gotta say, best possible time for the planet to start throwing that magnetism shit in our faces." Leiko: "Well, to be fair, the place is mostly frozen with some rare exceptions. The pebbles I was kicking when we met kept clacking together like this too... But right! Help me push!" Nyarla: "I know you can demagnetize something by hitting it or heating it." Leiko: The door opens with both of your efforts. The mausoleum is dark and you can see etchings in the walls of names. The light filters in through the door now and you can see, reflecting off the back wall "Dearest Mother" in a lovely script. Nyarla: "So...have you been here before?" Leiko: "Once, when I was little... Dad was showing me around before he left. Sorry, I don't mean to keep bringing it up. Sometimes... when you have been wanting something for so long, it becomes the only thing you think about. I'm trying not to be... annoying I guess. Just let me know if it gets really bad, okay?" Nyarla: "I'm fine hearing about it. I'd actually like to hear more. Like why you and he were even in the medium or what he must have gone off to do." He moves to insect the names on the wall. "What species are you?" Leiko: "I'm a lot of things! Dad is a time player too. I don't think we'd be something you would recognize. What with your crazy horns and weird gray skin and all. I think we were... What was it... Ha... " Leiko laughs. "I guess I've been trying to blend in with birds so long that I forgot! That's kind of sad..." "Too sad for my tastes. We should probably figure out how to continue from here though." Leiko sits on the floor and thinks. Nyarla: He moves now to where 'Dearest Mother' is written on the wall. Admiring the script and tracing it with a finger. Leiko: You hear a voice as you do so, but its not clear. Roll will for me. LoHaH (GM): "Close the door" the voice says to you. Nyarla: He looks around suspiciously. "You hear that?" Leiko: "Hear what?" Nyarla: "Strange voice said to close the door." "Mother or mind fuckery?" Leiko: "Maybe you overexerted yourself. Shit. I'm a crappy guide. Sorry Nyanya. I don't know since I can't hear it... I'll trust your best judgement though..." Nyarla: "I don't know if I trust strange voices popping up in my head. But I don't see a clear door anywhere except the one we came through." He steps over to the aforementioned door, making sure to pluck the key from the keyhole before guiding it closed. Leiko: "Whoa, what? Do you think we'll be able to get back out? Nyarla: "By the grace of the Mother?" Leiko: "That sounds boring, but okay." Nyarla: "Do you figure we should leave the key?" "It might stay unlocked and maybe, just maybe, anchored here." "Or risk whatever happens when we're without it." Leiko: "What if it opens multiple doors? I wouldn't. And besides, if we do make it to Mother, it won't matter When it's anchored anyway." Nyarla: "Right then." With key firmly in hand, he lets the door close. Leiko: "Ugh, I can't... what did he do when we were here?" Leiko grabs her head. "Are you still hearing the voice?" Nyarla: "No." "Hmm...I...I think I might have an idea?" Leiko: "What's up?" Nyarla: "About your memory of whatever your dad did here." "Think we could...peer that far back in the past? See what he did here." Leiko: "That's a good idea. That's probably why you were the original Timekeeper." She sighs. "Alright, we've got this!" Nyarla: "I've gone through my fair share of temporal stumbling before I realized I could do this trick." He focuses himself, anchoring his senses to Leiko to peer deep into events surrounding her, searching for the last time she was here. LoHaH (GM): You hear the voice again. "Praise my name" Nyarla: He was struggling to focus, but looks up when he hears the voice again, a tad startled. "Uhh...Dearest Mother, I beg of your grace to show us the way." "Please show mercy on your...children." LoHaH (GM): "The path is direct and clear" it says. You feel an urge to try your time powers. LoHaH (GM): For just a moment you see into the past, and you realize the back wall was not there at one point. Nyarla: He strides towards the wall, knocking on it to see if it's hollow or estimate it's thickness. "This wall wasn't always here." "Think we can get it out of the way?" Leiko: "What? Well I guess that would make sense. The building wasn't always here... " Leiko smiles, at first somewhat charmingly, but then a little bit too wide for comfort. "I think I heard small bombs. Did someone say small bombs?" She pulls a few out from under her cloak. Nyarla: Nyarla's very quick to dive out of the way. She accidentally scatters them at the base of the wall. "SHIT, I needed those in the air!" She does manage to encapsulate you both in a sort of field. You watch the bombs go off and crack the bottom of the wall, revealing a single stair. You are unharmed in her barrier. Nyarla: "Okay. So. Are you even trained in using those things?!?" Leiko: "What? What do you use, almighty Timekeeper, Master of Death and Dying?" She scowls. Nyarla: He scowls right back. "My fists. Less chance of even more death than I've already been through." Leiko: "I messed up. I mean, we can see a stair though..." she lets the field fall. Nyarla: "Yeah, it was a step in the right direction. Let's take thing a bit slower though, yeah? Cool Barrier, by the way." He steps up to the back wall once more as a pair of metallic gauntlets slip appear over his hands. He takes a deep breath, before striking out with a punch. Leiko: "I bet you can do it if you try. You just kinda... force everything to stop in that barrier and let it continue on either side." A few more pieces begin to crumble off the wall, though neither of you could fit through it at this size. Nyarla: "Thanks for the tip, now let's bring down the rest of this wall, yeah?" He leans back, before snapping his head forwards, horns on a collisions course with the wall. Leiko: What wall? :P The stairs are plainly visible now, and seem to go down and to the left. Nyarla: He brushes any scattered dust and debris off of his horns and out of his hair, turning back to her with a cocky smirk. "Shall we?" He gestures to the stairway. Leiko: "Well we closed the other door, so I guess we have to. I think I want to be behind those horns though." Nyarla: "I'll warn you before I make any sharp turns." He jokes as he starts off down the stairs. Leiko: "Alright alright" she laughs a little, following him. Leiko: You continue down the stairs. While its dark, for some reason you're still able to see the remnants of light sources in this place, as if time has shifted over itself in the most awkward of ways. You even think you hear something dripping every now and then. "You hear that dripping sound?" Leiko: "Dripping..." "Oh! A little bit. But that kind of makes sense." "We're underground now, right?" Nyarla: "Yeah, what about it?" Leiko: "Well... what if this is a cave?" "Dripping would make sense, right?" Nyarla: "I suppose it does." "Now is it dripping presently, or is it at random points in time like, the lights?" Leiko: "That I don't know, but I'm not really going to ask too much..." "Also... I wanted to say thank you. I've been saying forever how I was eventually going to be a daughter that could make it back to dad, and I would get headpats and dismissals, even sometimes people that would tell me to give up. I know you haven't really explicitly given any sort of support, but even getting this far means a lot to me." Nyarla: He lets himself smile at hearing that. "You're welcome. I do support it you know, whatever's going on with your search for your missing ancestor. On my planet we rarely meet our ancestors. Few are lucky enough to grow up with stories of theirs. I didn't even believe in them til recently, but who am I to impede someone who's actually got leads to follow? Especially when they're such a big help with my own mission." "I don't know much about this planet's history or how the medium works, but maybe, just maybe, I can do some digging and see about where he might have gone." "I'm sure he'll be proud at seeing how determined you are to find him." Leiko: "I hope so. It's been too long. And if I'm still here, I worry maybe he didn't succeed... Like he's hurt or he needs help..." Nyarla: "What do you mean? Was he coming back?" Leiko: "I don't know. I don't think anyone knows with something serious like that..." Nyarla: "Well. You' You'll find out, won't you?"* Leiko: "I guess..." Nyarla: "You said he was a Time player right? And it passed down to you?" Leiko: "Yep!" "So I've always been the fastest at tying my shoes. You know?" She sticks out her tongue, and you reach the bottom of the staircase. There is another door, and the dripping sounds are lot more frequent and loud down here. Nyarla: "You hear that?" Leiko: "Now that I'm listening for it, yeah..." Nyarla: He gives a lackluster push against the door, only testing it. "Think it's behind door number one?" Leiko: It rattles, as if it's locked. "That would be too easy." Nyarla: He produces the key once more, applying it to this new door. Leiko: This one opens with ease Nyarla: He pockets the key again, pushing at the door to open it. Leiko: Before you is a long narrow corridor, and you think you hear the sound of rushing water closeby. "Hmmm..." Nyarla: "Do caves normally have that much water?" "I'm not much of a spelunker." Leiko: You suddenly recall underground rivers being a thing if certain geological conditions are met "I'm not sure. I'm not a rock person." Nyarla: "But you're a time person. Are you getting any 'Time is a river' vibes?" He moves down the corridor. Leiko: "I don't think I'm as sensitive as you. You probably have more natural skill than me. Maybe it's a class difference..." Nyarla: "Heh, we could compare if you told me what yours was a bit early." Leiko: "Hmm... I'm an Heir. I inherit. It makes sense with how I got it and everything. But you can't tell anyone." Nyarla: "I can keep a secret. Very few besides me even know you exist." "I'm sure your class isn't a concern of theirs." Leiko: "Probably not. I mean, if they're like most other people I've met, they're just gonna care about themselves and how I can help them. Instead of how I feel or anything. Do you know people like that?" Nyarla: He shrugs. "A few." Leiko: "Blech" As you continue through the hall, you come across a large opening. A lovely carved hematite bridge is in front of you, and below it, a rushing river of blood. You can see in various times it being lower and higher than its current level. It flows freely despite the time restraint in this land. Nyarla: "Well...I wasn't wrong about the time river....Didn't anticipate it being a river of blood though." Leiko: Leiko sighs. "It makes sense though, when you think about it." Nyarla: "Yeah, for a couple reasons." He starts across the bridge. Leiko: Leiko lays down next to the bridge. "Do you think we could rest here a bit? I know its kind of unsettling, but I haven't had to move quickly in... a few months. Since nothing else has..." Nyarla: He looks back at her. "Oh, uh, yeah. Rest up, I'll just be here admiring the scenery." He casts a glance to the river of blood. Leiko: "Nyanya, did you know the hema in hematite comes from blood?" Nyarla: He takes a seat on the edge of the bridge. "No, I hadn't known that. Why?" Leiko: "When this Land was really active, the bird people were always fighting for resources.The village that killed more had better crops and were blessed. So they were always trying to kill people that weren't important to them. You know, the other village. I think it would have been fine if it was just that, but... Shing told me that his father told him, and his father before him, and so on and so on... That eventually it became even more personal. That other village killed someone's child. Well this village killed that village's baker's brother, so on and so forth. The Hatred was real. I'm sure its still real up there. Those people that are frozen, they're just... waiting on a final rest knowing they avenged someone they loved.... by killing someone they hated. And all that bloodshed makes the land provide and restores it... It's kind of pretty when you think of it like that..." "I think you had said you were thinking your quest was to stop all that, and save the people with peace or something..." Nyarla: He sits in silence during the story, visibly contemplating what was said. "It was an idle thought...certainly not after hearing that." "Sounds like peace is what would bring the real end to this planet." "The cycle is beautiful, if a bit messy and painful for those involved." Leiko: "Dad used to say stuff like... Part of the Land is essential, if not all of it. I think just because your land is in the End Times, there's nothing to change, it just needs to go back to the way it was. If we fix your quest bed and we get to god tier, would you help me set these people back apart enough so we can tell them the End Times are over and they can be as they were? To let them know their hero came after all?" "So my quest wouldn't be to have any impact on the land. As Timekeeper, I merely keep time. Allowing their lives to play out as they're meant to." Leiko: "Maybe... That probably means you're already an active person who needed to learn control." Nyarla: He stares into the river, blankly. "...quite possibly." "Yeah, I'll help you set them all straight. When the bed's fixed and we ascend. We'll keep their cycle from ending so soon." Leiko: "Thanks. Even if they didn't believe in me completely, I think it might be a nice last goodbye." Nyarla: "Think nothing of it. where will you even go though?" "When you start searching?" Leiko: "Probably everywhere if I can. I need to find dad somehow. Maybe ask around with your friends." Nyarla: "Did he want his own class kept secret?" There's...somewhat of an abundance of Time players who've flitted through this session. It might help to make the search a bit more specific." Leiko: "Dad? Hm... I don't know. I know when he left, there were people after him. Bad people. So he was looking for a way to make the Scratch happen." "So if they're still out there, I don't want to be too... forthcoming, you know?" "They'll use me against him." Nyarla: "The Scratch? And he's been gone for how long?" Leiko: She measures against her hip again. "I don't know... years for sure." Nyarla: "Years?" Leiko: "I've gone from being maybe... 6 years old to ... closer to 15. Give or take a year or two. I might inherit time, but I wasn't keeping track of it at first, and I'm sure you've noticed its not normal here." Nyarla: "So years are your age?" He sighs, "Yeah, time has been pretty wonky here." Leiko: "I'm kind of worried he succeeded and... like... what if he couldn't come back for me? And he had to go on helping with the process because he's the time player. And I've just been here all this time. Maybe this Land stopped existing for a while. Maybe I came back with it, never knowing that I missed a day... What if its been so long that he's dust now? Do you think I'm hoping for nothing?" Nyarla: "I...really can't say whether or not that's the case." "A friend of mine that knows this kind of stuff told me that this planet hadn't been on record as...existing, more or less." "At least that she hadn't seen it." Leiko: Leiko frowns. “Well... I've been here.” Nyarla: "Yeah, hadn't known what to make of that." "Well, whatever happened, you made it through the Scratch. Perhaps he did too?" Leiko: "I can't tell if it happened or not." "I guess we'll find out. Mother probably knows." Nyarla: "Solid answers beat speculation." Leiko: "Yeah... I'm gonna... just.... let the existential dread pass over me for a bit. Can I come get you when I'm ready to keep going?" Nyarla: "...take your time." Leiko: "It always comes to me anyway." She sticks out her tongue Category:Leiko Category:Nyarla Category:Shing